Australian films are poised to record their highest share of the national box-office for 14 years, which goes a long way towards regaining the faith of audiences after a long lean spell.
Through last Sunday, the feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers had racked up $52.9 million.
With Jeremy Sims’ Last Cab to Darwin and Neil Armfield’s Holding the Man earning tidy sums and Stuart McDonald’s Oddball and Deane Taylor’s Blinky Bill the Movie opening on Thursday, the total will soon surpass 2009’s $54.7 million.
It might be a stretch but 2015 could come close to the all-time record of $63.4 million in 2001, the year of Moulin Rouge!, Lantana, The Man Who Sued God and Crocodile Dundee in LA.
After a strong start to the year from Mad Max: Fury Road, The Water Diviner, Paper Planes and That Sugar Film, Aussie films already have eclipsed 2014’s lowly $26.1 million (a market share of 2.43 per cent) and 2013's $38.5 million.
Despite some critical acclaim, Ruben Guthrie, Women He’s Undressed and Partisan did not resonate strongly and Manny Lewis tanked. Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead, StalkHer and One Eyed Girl had limited theatrical lives.
The MPDAA’s $52.9 million tally does not include Strangerland, which had a short theatrical release after its Sydney Film Festival premiere and grossed $100,000, according to Transmission.
The upcoming line-up includes Tony Ayres’ Cut Snake (September 24), Joceyln Moorhouse’s The Dressmaker, Anupam Sharma's UnINDIAN and Peter Andrikidis' Alex & Eve (October) and Wayne Hope’s Now Add Honey (November) .
Click here for full MPDAA Oz releases chart.